20 Photos: An Evening On Belle Isle, Richmond VA

This is a small island in the James River that’s only minutes from downtown Richmond. We’ve visited a couple of times before and have always enjoyed ourselves, so we decided to head back.

One of the best parts of Belle Isle is that the length of it is graced by large rocks and shallow pools. It’s therefore a perfect place to walk around, sit and chill, sunbathe, have a picnic or swim – or all of those!

There are many shallow pool areas, so it’s also perfect for families with small kids.

Here’s how to get to Belle Isle in Richmond VA, as well as some photos of our time there.

1 – Bridge to Belle Isle

To get to Belle Isle, we use the parking lot at Brown’s Island Way and Tredegar St. As you walk down to the river from there, you’ll see both the vehicle bridge that goes all the way across the James River and the suspension bridge for pedestrians that takes you to Belle Isle.

2 – Path to Belle Isle

To get to the suspension bridge, walk down Tredegar St to the right until you get to the Dominion Energy sign. Walk towards the gate and then turn right to double back on yourself (where the cyclist is turning in the above photo.)

3 – Belle Isle water warning

You’ll see the above sign that’ll warn you if the water level’s high and if there are any restrictions.

4 – Belle Isle pedestrian bridge sign

You’ll be greeted by this sign as you head up the path to the bridge.

5 – Path up to bridge

Keep walking up the path – cyclists are allowed but pedestrians have the right of way.

6 – Suspension bridge to Belle Isle

At the top, you’ll walk through a gate to get on to the bridge across to the isle. The bridge can sway a little when there’s a lot of people on it – it’s perfectly safe, although it can feel a little disconcerting at first if you’re not expecting it.

It was fairly quiet the night we visited though, so it didn’t sway at all.

7 – View of the James River to the left

You get some good views of the James River from the bridge. This is the view to the left…

8 – View of the James River to the right

…and this is the view to the right.

9 – View of downtown Richmond

It also provides a great view of downtown Richmond.

10 – View back over the bridge

It only takes a few minutes to cross the Belle Isle suspension bridge.

11 – View at the bottom of the bridge

Although it’s only a small isle, there’s plenty of space to walk around and explore.

12 – Truffles checking out the Belle Isle sign

One of the first things you’ll see on Belle Isle is this sign.

13 – Belle Isle map

There’s also this helpful map to show where everything is. Knowing where the port-a-johns are will be helpful if you’re planning on spending the entire day here.

14 – Belle Isle information

There are several of these information boards which are worth checking out. There’s another one with more detailed information about Belle Isle’s history as a POW camp during the Civil War.

15 – Early view of Belle Isle

As you walk along the path, you’ll start to see outcrops like this.

16 – Shae in warm pool

Fairly early on, we found the perfect spot – plenty of flat rocks, secluded and shallow warm pools. Shae quickly made herself at home.

17 – Truffles checking out the lay of the land

Truffles wanted to explore a little first…

18 – Truffles and Shae in the water

…but she was soon (somewhat reluctantly) joining Shae for a swim.

19 – Family selfie at Belle Isle

After spending an hour or so in the river, we all got dried off and made our way back.

20 – Sunset over the James River

Heading back over the suspension bridge, we got to enjoy a nice sunset view over Richmond.

Summary

If you find yourself in Richmond VA, we highly recommend spending some time over on Belle Isle.

It’s a perfect spot to relax, especially because the shallow water means it stays warm throughout the summer and fall.